Miners Embrace Hydrogen To Hit Net-Zero Goals
One of the world’s dirtiest industries is going to play an outsized role in the march towards net zero emissions.
Electricity networks need a huge amount of copper and aluminium. Rare earth elements are essential for the permanent magnets used by wind turbines and EV motors. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are fundamental elements in the batteries that power increasing amounts of our lives.
To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, i.e., stabilising temperature increases at “well below” 2°C, would mean a quadrupling of mineral requirements for clean energy by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency. To get to global net-zero by 2050 would mean consuming six times more mineral inputs in 2040 than today.
Electricity networks need a huge amount of copper and aluminium. Rare earth elements are essential for the permanent magnets used by wind turbines and EV motors. Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite are fundamental elements in the batteries that power increasing amounts of our lives.
Mining is already responsible for as much as 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so business as usual is clearly not an option. However, the International Committee on Mining and Metals has pledged that the industry will achieve net zero by 2050. Hydrogen is key to reaching that goal.
One of the biggest challenges that miners face when looking to decarbonise is the remote nature of their operations. Plugging into the local grid is not an option for most mines, which instead tend to rely heavily on diesel to power their vehicles, plant equipment and the small towns that often grow up around a large mine.
Direct electrification is not possible, thanks to the intermittent nature of renewable energy and the long charge times for battery electric vehicles.
As a clean and versatile fuel, green hydrogen can be used in a variety of places within mining operations, whether powering vehicles, providing fuel for generators or processing iron ore.
A report from consultancy dss+ earlier this year concluded that in mining operations alone, the adoption of green hydrogen could dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by replacing diesel fuel in hauling vehicles, which make up between 30% and 80% of a mine’s carbon footprint.
Direct electrification of the mining industry is not possible, thanks to the intermittent nature of renewable energy and the long charge times for battery electric vehicles. As a clean and versatile fuel, green hydrogen can be used in a variety of places within mining operations, whether powering vehicles, providing fuel for generators or processing iron ore.
“Green hydrogen certainly shows great promise in helping to deliver an environmentally and economically sustainable future for mining companies,” said dss+ Director for Australia and New Zealand Andrew Wilson.” Its use cases extend far beyond simply fuelling heavy trucks.”
Some of the world’s biggest miners realised the potential of hydrogen to decarbonise their operation some years ago. Anglo American, BHP, Fortescue and Hatch announced a partnership back in 2020 to reduce the cost and risks associated with green hydrogen.
Since then, Fortescue has been the boldest, launching Fortescue Future Industries, a unit dedicated to green hydrogen production, while Anglo American in 2022 unveiled plans to replace its diesel-powered mine-haul trucks with hydrogen-powered alternatives, and the creation of a “hydrogen valley” in South Africa.
“Green hydrogen certainly shows great promise in helping to deliver an environmentally and economically sustainable future for mining companies,” said dss+ Director for Australia and New Zealand Andrew Wilson.” Its use cases extend far beyond simply fuelling heavy trucks.”
BNP said in March of this year it is working with engineering firm Hatch to develop an electric smelting furnace (ESF) in Australia, which would use hydrogen to replace the coking coal that it mines in Queensland to process the iron ore it produces in Western Australia (WA).
In May, Anglo American unveiled a prototype of its 220-ton hydrogen-powered ultra-class mine haul truck, capable of carrying a 290-tonne payload, at its mine in Mogalakwena, South Africa. The miner has since made a $200 million investment in global carbon reduction company First Mode with whom it plans to retrofit about 400 ultra-class haul trucks with First Mode’s proprietary hybrid fuel cell battery system.
Switching to hydrogen fuel will help Anglo American remove up to 80% of diesel emissions at its open pit mines, according to its calculations.
The mining giant considered options including synthetic fuels and biofuels before it became “crystal clear” hydrogen was the right solution for converting its fleet of diesel-powered monster trucks to a clean alternative, according to CEO Duncan Wanblad.
Anglo plans to make its own hydrogen and is in the process of building the 140 MW of solar needed at Mogalakwena to power the electrolysers that will produce the clean fuel.
Hydrogen’s characteristics have made it the choice for other suppliers of plant machinery as well. UK-based JCB developed a hydrogen combustion engine to power its next generation of loaders and diggers because about 97% of construction machines are refuelled while working on site. Hydrogen allows them to continue to work in a manner they are used to, filling up in a matter of minutes, rather than sitting idle for hours while a battery is recharged.
Moreover, clean hydrogen’s use in mining is more than a trucking story. Green hydrogen can also be used to manufacture low-emission explosives, as well as fuel metallurgical processes, backup power generation and personnel transport among other things.
UK-based JCB developed a hydrogen combustion engine to power its next generation of loaders and diggers because about 97% of construction machines are refuelled while working on site. Hydrogen allows them to continue to work in a manner they are used to, filling up in a matter of minutes, rather than sitting idle for hours while a battery is recharged.
Just last week, Carlton Power said it had signed agreements with Imerys and Sibelco to supply green hydrogen fuel to their clay mining operations near Plymouth in the southwest of England. A 5-mile underground pipeline will send the clean hydrogen from Carlton’s Langage Green Hydrogen project, replacing natural gas in the miners’ calcining operations.
A number of miners are exploring the use of hydrogen in the direct reduction of iron ore. As mentioned above, BHP is looking to replace highly polluting coking coal that it mines in Queensland with hydrogen to process its Pilbara iron ore in the steelmaking process.
Sweden’s LKAB, manager of the world’s largest underground iron-ore mine, is also using hydrogen to process iron ore for its customers.
“When we deliver iron ore pellets, they consist of both iron and oxygen. To remove oxygen, our clients today use coal and carbon, which form carbon dioxide,” said Susanne Eriksson Rostmark, a researcher at LKAB. “In this new process, we will use hydrogen that removes oxygen and makes only water vapour. So, it’s a totally carbon dioxide-free production.”
Hydrogen is not only powering a cleaner global economy; it is decarbonising the industries that will help us deliver a cleaner industrial future.
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